ABOUT THE PROJECT

REFLESS TEMPUS project is a part of TEMPUS IV family of EU projects in Serbia

The kick-off meeting (video/presentation) held at the University of Belgrade on December 2-3, 2010 marked the start of the REFLESS project, and Reforming Foreign Language Studies in Serbia became one of the national priorities.

REFLESS TEMPUS PROJECT MISSION

We are dedicated to implementation of positive reforms in foreign language studies in Serbia and their harmonization with the language study standards in EU.

The main goal of the project is to put Serbia into a position to have formally educated and highly skilled linguistic mediators and professionals (translators and interpreters). These improvements are necessary for the integration of Serbia in Europe and for its regional and internal development. The realization of our wider objective is facilitated by achieving several specific objectives, designed to answer to problems identified in project background.

There are a few important steps we take on this road to improvement. We work on harmonization of foreign language studies with European standards, European language policies and implementation of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and European Language Portfolio (ELP), as well as on the reforms of the language study programs in terms of structure, content, teaching methods and assessment. Developing and implementation of two Master programs - in Translation and Interpretation (T&I) and Serbian as a foreign language, are also important milestones to be reached in this project.

REFLESS PROJECT MAJOR DELIVERABLES

Project deliverables include tangible and intangible results, which are a product of a series of activities thoroughly planned and organized into five workpackages (WP) with clearly defined timings and in accordance with our goals.

First phase of project realization (WP.1) is related to analysis, design and development of existing and new new study programs at Bachelor and Master’s levels. Outcome of the exploitation phase of the project (WP.2) is a successful implementation of both new and redesigned study programs, which is facilitated by prior teachers training, equipment installation and establishing of teaching environment. The project achievements are disseminated in close collaboration with the Ministry of Education and also over our own Web site, press conferences, participation in scientific-educational programme on the state television (Versailles, Graz), education fairs in Novi Sad, Belgrade and Nis, as described in WP.3. All of this would not be possible without implementation of the agile management methods and quality control procedures, described in work packages WP.5 and WP.4, respectively.

REFLESS PROJECT ORGANIZATION

We are a consortium that consists of more than 150 professionals from 18 Serbian and European institutions organized in agile teams and coordinated by the University of Belgrade. It is a modern interaction between national and EU academic institutions, regional Chambers of Commerce and Serbian government bodies who all work as partners - sharing same values and working towards same goals.

WORK STYLE

Our work is open, cooperative, educational and goal-oriented, based on six principles: empiricism, timeboxing, agility, collaboration, prioritization and trust. We respond to changes instead of rigidly following the plan. We are the force of positive change that is transparent and efficiently agile – using modern management philosophy, organizational and communication tools in the inner organization (Kanban, Scrum, Open Space, World Cafe) and in our outreach to the community. We are not self-centered and focused only on our work. The range of our interests is wide, so we follow intensively the work of our colleagues in different fields and share our impressions about it in REFLESS blog.

All our actions are based on real results and provide valuable monitoring data of the real improvements.

On our project, we make sure we grow both individually and as a team - not in number but in ways we can use our skills.

RISKS AND ASSUMPTIONS

REFLESS TEMPUS project takes in consideration the certain factors and conditions that are not under the direct control of the project, but that are necessary for achieving the project’s goals.

The principal risk is the fact that the university’s management structures are insufficient to secure the cooperation of faculty members, and that, at policy and managerial levels, the institutions involved may fail to deliver the necessary political and practical support. Also, the outcomes of the project depend on the stability of political situation, governmental support, strong commitment of all partners involved and the motivation of all target groups.

FUNDING

The estimated project costs (both direct and indirect) are 925 592, 80 €, out of which 830 592, 80 € is financed by European Commission through TEMPUS grant, while the rest of 95 000 € is co-financed by the members of the consortium. REFLESS project is supported by all decision makers in the area of High Education, European integration and Policy making in Serbia.

The project is planned to last till October 2013.